Guess what! I'm not Dead!
by Hawkins
Summary: She tried to help them, but failed. She blames Sirius for their deaths. Having to hide for 13 years can mess with your mind. This is the much awaited sequel to The Fifth Marauder.


            A small heap of robes was over looked in the graveyard. The caretakers didn't think much of it. It didn't look like it was alive, probably just trash left over from that commotion the night before. Though they all dubbed it as harmless, something about it didn't want anyone to go near it and see what it was. 

            If the area weren't abandoned, they would've seen it. They could've seen what it really was. They could've seen the soft movement it had, and heard the small groan it emitted. They would've seen a triumphant smile as the robes were pushed off its face, and they would've heard the triumphant whisper.

            "It worked."

~*~*~*~

            Black curtains hung in the Great Hall. The teachers were all sitting at the head table, very gloomy and very distressed. The students that didn't know the ones that died were cheerful behind their blank masks. You-know-Who was defeated, why shouldn't they be happy? 

            Dumbledore slipped into the Great Hall un-noticed, but as he stood behind his chair in the middle of the staff table, everyone's eyes looked towards him, expecting kind words, or words of understanding, or any word for that matter. But Dumbledore looked at every student's face, and every teacher's face and was at a loss for words. Nothing endearing, or encouraging came to his mind. Nothing could describe what has happened these last few days. He shook his head and walked out of the Great Hall, and headed toward his office. Lily and James Potter, dead. Karen Darkes, dead. Sirius Black, missing since Halloween. Peter Pettigrew, missing since Halloween. Remus Lupin, still in a state of shock.

            "It must be hard." A voice said, breaking Dumbledore from his thoughts. He finally took notice to his surroundings. He wasn't in, or even near his office. He was standing at the bottom step of the marble staircase. Severus Snape was sitting in the middle of that staircase, arms resting on his knees.

            "That entire group, gone. All except Lupin, and at the moment he's as good as gone."

            "Severus, I hope you are not making jokes."

            "I am most certainly not, sir. I admit, I was only on good terms with Karen, and hated all of the others, but…all of this crashing down at one time…" He trailed off. After a moment of silence between them, he found his voice again. "I would go and give my condolences personally, but I'm the last person Lupin will want to see, I was the one that led her into the danger."

            "Do not blame yourself for that. She would've gone and sought him out without you. You just helped her stay alive a bit longer." Severus nodded, but wasn't convinced. He looked down at his hands, as Dumbledore walked away.

            As Dumbledore went up the moving staircase to his office, he felt very strange. Something was wrong, and he couldn't tell what. The feeling was worse as he became closer and closer to his office. Carefully, not knowing what to suspect, he opened up the door and looked around. No one was there. He breathed a silent relief and walked into his office.

            "Not up to game I see." He turned around and saw a hooded figure standing in the spot the open door hid from view.

            "I've been a bit distressed lately." He smiled as he recognized the voice. "Mainly over your disappearance and assumed death."

            "You know what they say about assuming. It makes an…" Dumbledore cut her off with his hand.

            "I don't think you need to finish that. So tell me exactly everything that happened." Karen pulled the hood down off her head and locked the door.

            "Where should I begin?"

**Flash back mode**

            A stealth hawk flew in the sky, looking down below to a cemetery, where a crowd was beginning to form. With only the flutter of wings, the bird landed in a tree. Almost twenty figures, in black robes, were standing in a circle. A long figure was standing in the middle of the circle and looking around at everyone.

            "So you've all made it." A small gust of wind shook the leaves of the tree, and the hawk turned into a woman, with the faintest movement and noise.  She needed to be able to hear everything, and this wasn't the place, she needed to be closer. Climbing down the tree carefully and silently, she became closer to the group and could catch more words. She looked away from the black figures and saw she ran out of branches. She did the only thin she could do, jumped down, and hoped she wouldn't make a loud noise.

            Hope doesn't work unless you have luck.

            "Well, well. Glad you dropped by." Karen looked up from her crouched position on the ground to three Death Eaters standing over her, with the masks grinning at her misfortune.

**End of flashback.**

            "Then I said a word I'd dare not repeat to you, Albus."

~*~*~*~ 

AN:// Okay, that's a good place to stop. I hope a lot of people read this, since I only wrote it because of you. It is very hard to write something like this, when the original muse was kicked out by my new one. (She's very temperamental.) If you are reading this, just forget the last part of the last chapter in The Fifth Marauder, where Sirius, Remus and Harry are in the cemetery. It will make your life easier. Oh, and you will find out what "worked" in later chapters.


End file.
